Aretha Franklin Reveals How She Lost 85 Pounds

Aretha Franklin’s dramatic weight loss led many to believe that it was a result of her still-undisclosed health scare, but the singer claims to be dropping pounds the old-fashioned way.

According to People, Franklin revealed in her upcoming televised interview with Wendy Williams that she lost 85 pounds and stopped eating food “smothered in hot sauce.”

“That’s off the menu now … and no pig feet, either.”

“I’ve been looking at a lot of pictures, and I was saying [to myself], ‘You were entirely too fat for words,’ ” the 18-time Grammy winner said with a laugh. I was doing everything you could to lose that weight, and it’s hard. It’s just really hard. [But] you can’t continue eating things that will hurt you eventually.”